''Hylomyscus endorobae'' is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

of the genus ''

Hylomyscus ''Hylomyscus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square&nbs ...

'' that is found only in select portions of the wet

East African montane forests The East African montane forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate areas above 2000 meters in the mountains of South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Geography The East Afr ...

of the Kenyan Rift mountains of southwestern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, and only at elevations above . It was described in 1910 as ''Epimys endorobae'' and initially considered a distinct species. It was later reclassified as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of '' Hylomyscus denniae'', thought to be a widespread species but with a disjunct distribution among the

tropical wet forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...

s of a broader

afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions ...

biotic region. It had also been interpreted as a small form of the genus '' Praomys''. In 2006, ''Hylomyscus'' and ''Praomys'' were confirmed to be distinct genus-group taxa, and ''H. endorobae'' was again recognized as a distinct species. Twelve species of ''Hylomyscus'' are currently recognized, provisionally arranged in six groups. ''H. endorobae'' together with ''H. denniae'' and '' H. vulcanorum'' comprise the ''H. denniae'' group. These three species are quite similar, and they occupy similar habitats that are in relative close proximity to one another. However, because they exclusively inhabit wet montane forests above 2,000 m, they are geographically isolated from one another, in much the same way that some species become

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to particular islands. ''H. endorobae'' appears to be endemic to the Kenyan Rift mountains east of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

from

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...

. ''H. denniae'', on the other hand, is endemic to the Ruwenzori Mountains, along the border between

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, while ''H. vulcanorum'' is found just south of the Equator, in

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, and the D.R. Congo. Eight characteristics distinguish the various members of the genus ''Hylomyscus''. For example, ''H. endorobae'' can be distinguished because it is larger than ''H. denniae'', with a broader skull and larger molars.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1875375 endorobae Mammals of Kenya Mammals described in 1910 Endemic fauna of Kenya